Page 70 of His Obsession
A hand wrapped around my ankle and pulled it backward. The floor came rushing up to meet me, and I rolled down the steps screaming. A limping, bleeding, pissed-off Jimmy stood above me.
“You’re going to pay for that.”
“It was already bought and paid for, motherfucker.” I laughed, unable to help myself. I gave it my best shot and failed. At least, Alek would know I tried.
Jimmy bent over and slammed his fist into my ribcage, my rib caved, and a crack echoed in my chest. A sharp pain followed the nerve circuit firing in my brain. I curled into a protective ball, blocking him from any other vital organs and my face. His fist collided with the side of my head, bouncing my skull into the cement like a pendulum.
My brain sat in a vice being squeezed, ready to spill from its container of bone. My ears roared, and Jimmy’s beating stopped, allowing me time to take a shallow breath. The roar continued, getting louder until they resembled the chaos of motorcycle pipes and death.
I'd watched her cry in six different ways, from six separate numbers. Her agonizing screams haunted me to the core since that first message from Jimmy. The cigarettes; always his favorite go-to—his little punishment for everything. If I didn’t do the dishes right, said the wrong word, or got a poor grade. If it wasn’t a burn, it was a broken bone or beating. The scars had faded now, but the ones too deep for fading had tattoos covering them—a solemn reminder to never be weak again.
We were getting close, baby girl. Her frayed appearance caused a pang in my gut, and I felt sucker-punched by him all over again.
"Jake, tell me you have something, please? I'm running ragged here."
Two days passed since my first video of her—too many hours of beating the hell out of Snider. My head was pounding from the smack against the wall, I needed stitches, but I wasn't leaving until we got answers.
"It's difficult on burner phones, Alek."
"Alek!" Tonk hollered at me from across the lawn, jerking me from my conversation with Jake. His face was full of glee. Did he have something? "He's talking, I got an address." He rushed over to me, and he put his hand on my shoulder. "She's at your childhood home, man."
My gut flipped, and my skin broke out in a sweat. He hid Liz in the one place he knew I never wanted to return. Clever.
"Get everyone together." As much as it ruined me, we needed to be methodical, smart, precise. We… no,Icouldn’t let him disappear again. He would die, once and for all.
Rushing inside, Tonk filed in behind me, bumping into my back. Throwing him a glare, I noticed the map in his hands. It was my childhood street, theHellI called home. I wanted her back. I wanted her back so badly that I was going to a place I swore I’d never go back to.
“This is bigger than Jimmy. He was just a pawn. Snider was a prison guard where Jimmy was being housed. He worked the death row block. When Alvarez’s crew killed his family, and his club didn’t retaliate, he started sending notes to Jimmy. He claimed to be an inmate, getting close to him—gave him some bogus stories, and Jimmy ate them right up.”
“Why use Jimmy, though? There are a host of other inmates to choose from?” I asked.
“Jimmy was the only one on his block that was certifiable and getting close to his execution date. It gave him a perfect excuse to claim he tried to kill himself. When they rushed him to the hospital, Snider had the ambulance ambushed, killing the guards he worked with, and taking Jimmy. He was none the wiser that Snider was a guard. Once he got Jimmy out, he set him off to go find out what he could. No one knew who Jimmy was; he had no ties to anyone. Snider knew that you were working with Alvarez, but he also knew that Jimmy was your father. It seemed as if fate was on his side.”
Just the name of my father made me seethe with fury. The stars aligned just right, putting Snider and Jimmy in each other’s path, both having a goal of revenge against two people who just so happened to be connected. I didn’t buy it, but maybe Karma was a bitch, and I was just getting fucked by her, first.
“Does he have anyone?” I asked, staring at the photo of her tear-soaked face.
Guilt was an all-consuming fire burning me up inside. I should have noticed the basement in the video. Jimmy did an excellent job of not showing the surrounding area, but I still should have picked it up. I spent much of my childhood on that floor. Cold, dark, and abused—I could fully empathize with her.
The difference between her situation and mine was that I didn’t have anyone looking to save me, I didn’t have someone who loved me enough to risk it all for me.
“Nope, he’s by himself.”
“Are you sure?”
Confirmation on it needed to be accurate. I didn’t want us to end up like the Dirty Bones MC.
“As positive as I can be from here. I could scope it out and see if there was any movement, but it could spook him.”
I pat him on the back. “No. I don’t want him to see us coming. Great job. Let’s getmy girl.”
“Roger that.”
Tonk ordered people around on his phone while I took off to my closet. I held my armory here—all the weapons I would ever need, just feet away from my bed. I turned the wheel on my safe and yanked the door open with a loud squeal.
I pulled out my favorite hunter’s knife and put it in a carrying case. My Kel-Tec RFB assault rifle sat in its designated spot, next to my AR-10. It was the same one Liz used at the shooting range.
I picked up two magazines for my rifle and five for my Glock. I wouldn't be caught off guard by him again—if I learned anything from that asshole, it was that I needed additional security measures put in place for my future dealings.